Real Koch Facts

The Adelsons Are In The House, But Tonight Will Be A Koch Show

December 16, 2015

Tonight’s GOP-candidates-sucking-up-to-donors narrative will center on the GOP field’s efforts to woo GOP mega-donor and Venetian hotel owner Sheldon Adelson. It makes sense: It’s Adelson’s home turf and he’ll be right there in the audience. And there’s no question the various candidates — Marco Rubio, in particular — are very much trying to win his favor.

But each and every candidate is equally — probably more so — eager to win Charles and David Koch’s backing — and they’ll be doing their best to show the billionaire brothers that they deserve their network’s $900 million support.

Or every candidate but one, that is. Donald Trump — the guy whose very appeal among voters rests in the fact that “he can’t be bought” — is the one candidate who won’t be up there pandering to Adelson and the Kochs tonight. Trump’s candidacy and absolute dominance is keeping Charles and David up at night, because they know they can’t pressure […]

“Non-Partisan” LIBRE’s Unabashed Partisanship Does The GOP No Favors

November 30, 2015

The LIBRE Initiative, Charles and David Koch’s Latino outreach front group that works against the interests of the Hispanic community, is back in the spotlight. A number of news outlets —the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — have in the last week published stories exposing the organization, which claims to be politically neutral, for the partisan sham that it is.

Among other purposes, the Kochs — whose interest-group-funding organization, Freedom Partners, has “donated $6.5 million in 2014, $2.9 million in 2013 and $3.3 million in 2012 to Libre” — use LIBRE to build out their vast repository of voter file data, which they then contract out to candidates and the RNC through i360, their proprietary data firm. National Review last month got into LIBRE’s methods, which include using offerings […]

Why The New Koch Revelations Are Important For 2016

November 13, 2015

Yesterday’s bombshell POLITICO report revealed:

The Koch brothers gave their “blessing” to a political consulting firm, Aegis Strategic, to create a new, secretive nonprofit that spent hundreds of thousands in dark money on strategically timed attack ads to take out a rival of one of the Kochs’ chosen candidates in a Republican primary.

At the same time, Freedom Partners ran ads against the general election opponent of the Kochs’ chosen candidate.

After the Kochs’ chosen candidate won the GOP primary, the same political consulting firm helped raise hard money for the Kochs’ candidate at a Koch donor confab where the candidate also personally thanked Koch network donors.

What it means for 2016:

The Kochs are willing to play ball in GOP primary races and spend serious money attacking Republican rivals of their chosen candidates through dark money non groups.

With the Kochs’ success of parachuting in with new, secret groups in 2014, why wouldn’t they […]

The Kochs Don’t Need To Endorse

November 11, 2015

Sound the alarm — BIG NEWS — Charles Koch revealed to USA Today that he and his billionaire brother aren’t backing a candidate in the GOP primary. That’s because they don’t need to endorse: no matter who wins the GOP nomination they’ll be a puppet of the Koch brothers and beholden to their agenda that stacks the deck in favor of billionaires like them.

Here’s five takeaways from Charles Kochs’ latest stop on his PR tour:

The Kochs see the light – they’re not endorsing in the GOP primary because every candidate is beholden to them & backs their agenda.

Charles Koch must have come to the same conclusion we’ve made about the GOP primary field: Why bother endorsing? Every Republican candidate in the field is a winner for the Kochs. From Marco Rubio to Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, the Kochs have been successful in ensuring each GOP candidate is 100% beholden to […]

GOP Needs The Kochs To Win In 2016, AFP President Warns

November 11, 2015

Without a “bold agenda,” warned Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips Tuesday on Fox News, Republicans cannot win the presidency in 2016. And with that, the Kochs sent the GOP a message: You can’t win without us in 2016 — and you’ll have to go all in for the Koch agenda to get our support.

In the interview, the Koch group’s president name-dropped Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson, giving them a not-so-subtle nod that they remain top contenders for the Koch network’s backing in 2016. But Phillips also made it clear that nothing’s a given: Candidates who want a crack at the Kochs’ $900 million have to go big and bold on the Koch agenda.

And we saw big — if not, bold — Koch pandering at Tuesday’s debate. From laughing off minimum wage increases to calling for Wall Street deregulation and massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the field […]

Koch Front Group CVA Launches Attack Ads In Presidential Race

November 6, 2015

A new report from AP reveals the billionaire Koch brothers have started to pour money into attack ads through their so-called veterans group, Concerned Veterans for America.

One of the Kochs’ many front groups, Concerned Veterans for America, is spending at least $100,000 on attack ads because they want to buy the White House for a GOP candidate who will marching orders from Charles and David Koch and advance their self-enriching agenda, which includes privatizing the VA.>

From American Bridge VP Eddie Vale:

“The Koch brothers’ front groups are already pouring money attacks ads because they know that’s the only way to buy the White House for one of Charles and David Koch’s puppet candidates. On the Republican side, presidential candidates from Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush to Ted Cruz continue to endlessly tout how they back the Kochs’ self-enriching agenda, which is good for the Kochs but when their harmful agenda […]

Kochs Swing And Miss In 3 Crucial Swing States

November 4, 2015

The Kochs went all in for the 2015 election, investing heavily in ballot initiatives and races up and down the ticket. But Charles and David came up short yesterday in three crucial swing states: Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Ohio.

In Pennsylvania, a Koch-linked group spent $1 million trying to tip the scales in a state Supreme Court yesterday. All three open Pennsylvania Supreme Court seats were won by Democrats. In Colorado, Charles and David’s AFP spent hundreds of thousands in two county school board elections, fueling “a money-soaked proxy war.” Again, the Kochs lost big. And in Ohio, 76% of voters approved the Coloumbus Zoo and Aquarium’s levy renewal — a cause the Kochs have been fighting for over a year.

Charles and David can’t be happy with these results: They don’t bode well for the Kochs’ prospects in 2016, when they plan to spend hundreds of millions more hawking the same […]

GOP Presidential Candidates, Vulnerable GOP Senators Follow Kochs On Debt Deal

October 30, 2015

Even Paul Ryan supported the bipartisan debt deal but GOP presidential candidates and Republican senators facing tough reelection battles opposed it left and right.

Why? Because GOP presidential candidates, including Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and Republican senators, including Rob Portman, Pat Toomey, Ron Johnson, Roy Blunt, Richard Burr, and Rand Paul, would rather score points with the Kochs than support a bipartisan solution to avoid a default that would harm the full faith and credit of the United States.

Through AFP President Tim Phillips, LIBRE Initiative Executive Director Daniel Garza,Taxpayers Protection Alliance President David Williams, and others, Koch HQ signaled their opposition to the bipartisan debt deal and GOP candidates in tough races were more than eager to fall in line in hopes of winning a piece of the nearly $900 million the Kochs plan to spend on 2016 to buy the White House and ensure those that do their bidding […]

Scrambling To Hide Koch Commitments, GOP Field Boots “Biggest Weakness” Question

October 29, 2015

Wednesday night’s debate opened with a question that — while simple — gave the GOP field some trouble: “What’s your biggest weakness?” Each of the candidates ducked and dodged the question to the best of their respective abilities — some better than others. (To paraphrase Donald Trump, some of them “just don’t have it”: Blah, blah, blah, etc.)

But the reason the candidates struggled is no more complex than the question itself: Rubio, Bush, Cruz, and the rest of the crew couldn’t exactly go up there and tell the truth — they couldn’t admit that they’re boxed in by an inflexible fealty to Charles and David Koch and their selfish agenda. It’s not exactly voter-friendly to admit that, in everything you do, in any legislation you push, the Kochs’ agenda — and their bottom line — will always supersede the interests of the American public.

Three candidates in particular,

No Matter Who Is The GOP Nominee, The Kochs Win

October 29, 2015

The Koch brothers’ invisible primary has allowed them to pull the strings in the GOP presidential fight from from behind the scenes. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina have made it clear they are salivating at the chance for a bite of Koch cash. The Kochs even had the decency to provide talking points for tonight’s debate. All ten candidates on the stage tonight support policies that will boost billionaires like the Kochs and hurt middle class and working families.

Take a look at the candidates’ ties to the Kochs:

Rubio
Koch Primary

Headline: “Marco Rubio: I Would Love To Win Support From The Koch Brothers In 2016.” [Washington Times, 4/23/15]

The Kochs “Identified Five Candidates Who Have The Right Message And ‘A Good Chance Of Getting Elected’”: Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, And Marco Rubio. According to USA Today, “[Charles] Koch, his brother David and their team have identified five candidates who […]

NEW KOCH BOOK: Bad Profit: How The Billionaire Brothers Steering The GOP Are Driven By A Self-Interested & Self-Enriching Agenda

October 13, 2015

In his new book out today, Good Profit, Charles Koch sets out to deceive readers that the Koch family’s prominence and wealth has been built on sound, ethical, and even patriotic principles. In reality, the Koch brothers and their business empire has been built on a foundation of what Koch describes as “bad profit.”

Good Profit is just another attempt by Koch to pull the wool over the American public’s eyes and hide the fact that the billionaire Koch brothers and their profit driven business and political philosophy hurts real families and working people across the country.

If you’re picking up a copy of Good Profit today, you might want to think twice. Publisher’s Weekly gave Koch’s book a brutal early review calling it a “rambling rah-rah for his company’s operating philosophy,” “a book-length advertisement for Koch Industries’ products, and for himself as a businessman,” and “self-congratulatory and slim.”

This week as the Koch PR machine […]

New Survey: Majority Of Republicans Believe In Climate Change. Charles Koch: Shrug

September 29, 2015

The Koch brothers, aka the world’s leading climate-deniers, regularly use their political influence and wealth to push bunk science against climate change. Most of the conservative politicians they fund do the same, but a new poll released yesterday shows that the rest of their party may be moving on. A survey conducted in late August shows that more than half of Republicans “believe the world’s climate is changing and that mankind plays some role in the change,” the New York Times reported yesterday.

According to the New York Times:

The results echo a number of other recent surveys concluding that despite the talk of many of the party’s candidates, a significant number of Republicans and independent voters are inclined to support candidates who would back some form of climate action. It may also point to a problem facing Republicans seeking their party’s presidential nomination: The activists who crowd […]

“King Of Kochworld” Falls But Rest Of GOP Field Ready To Put The Kochs First

September 22, 2015

Scott Walker was the Kochs’ chosen one, the “King of Kochworld.” The Kochs hand-picked Walker because of his deep commitment to putting the Kochs’ self-enriching agenda ahead of everything else. On nearly every single issue, Walker was the Kochs’ model candidate. Whether it was attacking health care reform, slashing funding for education, working to disenfranchise voters, or hurting working families, when the Kochs said jump, Scott Walker said, “How high?”

While the Kochs won’t get a return on their investment under a President Walker, the rest of the GOP field is just as cozy with the Kochs and committed to moving the billionaires’ self-interested, profit-maximizing agenda forward.

In the end, whomever the Republican nominee is, the Kochs won’t lose. Like Walker, the rest of the GOP field is committed to toeing the Koch line:

Jeb Bush is no stranger in Koch country, as his ties to the billionaire brothers run deep. Jeb’s association […]

Just Another Stop On The Koch Road Show For Koch Favorite Ted Cruz

August 24, 2015

After Jeb Bush’s tepid performance at the Koch’s American for Prosperity summit yesterday, Koch road show regular Ted Cruz is sure to get David Koch and other Koch network donors on their feet today with his fiery endorsement of the Koch agenda and his passionate commitment to moving it forward.

One of the Kochs’ chosen five, Cruz is a favorite at Koch events — for years he’s taken center stage at AFP, Concerned Veterans for America, Freedom Partners, and other Koch network donor confabs.

And in the Senate, Cruz is one of the loudest advocates and defenders of the Koch agenda — putting special interests and billionaires like the Kochs ahead of middle class and working families.

So, in comparison to Jeb’s smattering of “polite applause,” will Ted Cruz’s deep allegiance to the Kochs and his audition today win him a piece of the $900 million the Kochs said they will spend on this election?

In conjunction with this weekend’s […]

Jeb Bush Is No Stranger In Koch Country

August 21, 2015

Jeb Bush and the Koch brothers’ roots run deep.

Though he may claim the contrary, Jeb’s attendance and role as a keynote speaker at today’s Koch-sponsored Defending the American Dream Summit is no coincidence. His relationship with the Kochs is far past budding — it’s been blossoming for years.

Jeb Bush’s association with Koch-linked groups goes back decades, and even predates his first gubernatorial election — continuing through his tenure as governor and to this day. Jeb’s even hired Koch network staffers to work on his presidential campaign.

So, protest as he might that he’s a stranger in Koch Country, rest assured: Jeb’s a native son.

In conjunction with this weekend’s Americans for Prosperity Defending the American Dream conference in Columbus, Bridge Project today also released a new report, “O-H-I-O Koch! Koch! Koch!: How The Kochs Have Polluted Ohio With Their Business & Politics,” detailing the extensive damage done by the Kochs’ subversive Ohio operations. Read more

Jeb And The Kochs’ Fight Against Veterans

August 17, 2015

Today Jeb Bush is rolling out his plan to partially privatize the VA during a town hall organized by the chief advocates for VA privatization — the Koch brothers’ “veterans” group, Concerned Veterans for America.

Jeb’s claiming he wants to be the “most veteran-friendly” candidate but Jeb and the Kochs’ plan for partially privatizing the VA does just the opposite of helping veterans. Even worse, Bloomberg reports that the Koch/Jeb plan for the VA wouldn’t benefit vets, but big insurance companies — including Jeb’s former employer that payed him millions.

As revealed in a Bridge Project and VoteVets.Org report, “The Vets Group That Fights Against Veterans,” CVA promotes extreme, right-wing polices that stand in opposition to nearly every other veterans group. From pushing a plan to privatize the VA health care system to proposing a transition from the current military retirement system to a private 401(k)-like plan, CVA follows the radical conservatism of the […]

Profit Margins And The Koch Bros.’ Climate Change Contrarianism

August 13, 2015

The Koch brothers, climate change deniers extraordinaire, have a long history of bolstering climate change denying candidates and groups, and opposing environmental regulations, while simultaneously advocating increased regulatory regimes on alternative energy industries.

Dangling the carrot that is the $889 million they plan to spend in the 2016 elections, the Kochs have already “successfully persuaded many elected officials — including presidential hopefuls Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul — to sign a pledge that would ‘oppose any regulation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue,’”according to NPR.

The Kochs’ climate change denial isn’t ideological — it isn’t about disputing the scientific consensus.

It’s not about questioning the indisputable facts of global warming, either — it’s about protecting the profit margins of their pollutant-expelling business interests.

The numbers speak for themselves. NPR’s Lauren Leatherby reports on a University of Massachusetts Amherst study that says it […]

The Koch Joke: Bogus PR Campaign Is Bogus

August 5, 2015

The Koch brothers have been in the news a whole lot lately, but it’s all by design.

A massive public relations campaign over the last several weeks, tied to their retreat where Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, and Carly Fiorina auditioned for the $900 million the Kochs are spending this election, has yielded glowing profile after glowing profile. Some even tell a sob story of Koch demonization, suggesting that us humble, non-billionaires, with just our singular votes to make our electoral voices heard, should feel sorry for them.

Despite their protests and claims to the contrary, the Kochs’ “philanthropic” efforts and political contributions have always been about control — have always been about using their money and influence to manipulate and advance their own personal welfare. David Koch even admits it, telling the New Yorker:

“If we’re going to give a lot of money, we’ll make darn sure they spend it […]

Sorry, we were wrong about the Kochs

July 31, 2015

I could almost hear Sarah McLaughlin’s ‘I Will Remember You’ playing as I read about how brave the Kochs had to be in the New York Times this AM.

Yes, workers have died at their plants from safety violations. Sure they have fired people and outsourced jobs. OK, they may have polluted the environment. And fine, they want to take away people’s health care and pensions. But think about what THEY have had to go through.

Can you imagine how hurtful it must be to have people point out the millions they spend on lobbying, tax breaks their companies take, and where they argue for MORE regulation on the solar industry when they want to claim they just want the government to leave them alone?

It must be so hard to take a few minutes away from the country club to answer some questions from reporters. And the horror of having to miss […]

The Koch Brothers’ Worst Nightmare: Donald J. Trump

July 29, 2015

For the Koch brothers, everything comes down to control. The Kochs use their money and their network’s resources to get what they want, backing candidates who agree to support their self-interested, profit-maximizing agenda.

But what happens when the Kochs don’t have any leverage?

That brings us to the Koch brothers’ worst nightmare: GOP front-runner Donald Trump. As Politico reported today, the Kochs are “freezing out” the loud-mouthed, xenophobic force of nature who’s dominating his Republican opponents — and whose rise in the polls is keeping the Koch brothers up at night.

Other candidates know the deal: Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker — they’re all making ideological concessions as quickly as they can to show the Koch brothers they’re worthwhile investments. And it’s working: they’ve been “summoned” to an exclusive Koch network conference this weekend.

But Trump is different.

So he overstated his net-worth — $2.9 billion isn’t the “TEN BILLION DOLLARS” he claimed. But, as Politico rightly notes: with that kind of […]

NOT BREAKING: Area Koch Brothers Mouthpiece To Give Speech Tonight

July 10, 2015

If there was any doubt what constituency is most important to Marco Rubio, tune into his speech at “FreedomFest” in Las Vegas tonight. What you’ll hear is a carefully crafted argument to appeal to two men: Charles and David Koch.

It’s no secret the Koch primary is on. And for the five candidates who made the shortlist, winning that contest means a faithful allegiance to their “libertarian” causes.

For example, just a few days ago Rubio called higher education “a cartel.” That little gem mimics a Koch front group’s website trying to convince younger Americans that more student debt and a deregulated higher education system will somehow improve their futures.

Wondering what other acts Rubio will do in his Vegas Koch show? The same tired policies that help billionaires like the Kochs cloaked in grandiose language of a “New American Century.” In addition to calling education “a cartel,” other items on the Koch agenda that Rubio […]

Hold your horses — Kochs and GOP will continue to fight ACA

June 25, 2015

More than six million Americans are breathing a sigh of relief today knowing they’ll be able to keep their affordable health insurance, but the scene at Koch headquarters is undoubtedly whipping into a frenzy. They’re gearing up for the next fight to prevent Medicaid expansion in the states and getting ready to bark orders at GOP politicians like Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush eager to follow their lead.

For people who prioritize return on investment, today’s ruling dealt a huge blow to the Kochs, who spent millions to bring King v. Burwell to the Supreme Court and to stop Medicaid expansion. Now more than ever, they will work with conservative state governments and GOP candidates to push their extreme agenda.

With this latest defeat, the Kochs and their Republican allies are setting their sights on next year’s court decisions and, of course, the White House.

Kochs Still On Team #Walker2016

June 22, 2015

The Koch network is tipping its hand in favor of Scott Walker’s presidential bid once again. Art Pope, the North Carolina conservative who has been referred to as the “third Koch brother,” indicated at a fundraiser for the Wisconsin governor that he is likely to back Walker over the rest of the GOP field.

According to the Washington Post,

Before that lunch, the governor met privately with about 30 high-capacity donors, including North Carolina retail magnate Art Pope, a major conservative benefactor with strong ties to the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

“He’s not the most charismatic speaker, but I don’t think people are looking for the most charismatic,” said Pope, who has not yet picked a 2016 favorite but said he is seriously considering Walker. “They are looking for the best candidate who would do the best job governing, not the best stump speech.”

In April, David Koch let it slip that he […]

Kochs cannibalize their own

June 8, 2015

The Koch brothers are so extreme that they’re targeting Florida Republicans who support such unholy things as providing people with affordable health care and fixing crumbling roads and bridges. The Kochs have already made sure that they’re responsible if 1.3 million Floridians lose affordable health insurance this month.

To be fair, Florida Republicans probably saw this coming. Americans for Prosperity is targeting 25 state senators for supporting Medicaid expansion that would provide 800,000 Floridians with health care. In response, one Florida Republican recently called out AFP in a hearing, saying, “Obviously you’re for prosperity for yourself and not anyone else … You people serve absolutely no purpose.” Others are trashing AFP’s motives and attempts to deceive voters.

Nationally, the Kochs are trying to get ahead of their problems with state Republicans bucking their agenda by holding auditions for the top GOP presidential contenders for a share of the nearly $900 million they’re spending this election. The Kochs have

Kochs team up with GOP 2016ers to disenfranchise voters

June 4, 2015

The Koch brothers’ favored presidential candidates are more than willing to sell off their policy platforms’ for a chunk of the $900 million the billionaire brothers plan to spend on the 2016 election. In doing so, the GOP has been working overtime to disenfranchise voters across the country. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Scott Walker are among the many Republicans content with taking away Americans’ right to the ballot box in order to secure Koch cash and ease their path to the White House.

Koch Ties to Voter Suppression
Americans For Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity Mailed Wisconsin Voters Absentee Ballots With Wrong Date On Them, Hosted Events With “True The Vote”

During 2011 Recall Elections, AFP Mailed Voters Absentee Ballots With The Wrong Date. According to Politico, “The conservative third-party group Americans for Prosperity said absentee ballot applications sent to Wisconsin voters this weekend with the wrong election date were the result of a ‘printing mistake.’ […]